OTR Links 09/07/2012

“Google apps for iOS are being slowly but surely updated by Mountain View, and today the Gmail for iOS app was updated to give users the option to open links in Chrome for iOS instead of Apple’s Safari browser. The update moves Google towards providing Google Apps users an ecosystem within the bigger iOS ecosystem at a time when Apple is actively working to push Google services out the door. They got rid of YouTube in the latest iOS 6 beta, and iOS 6 will also see the end of Google Maps built into iOS.”

“This is the second post in a series of posts that will be featuring a variety of free web resources on different subject areas. Yesterday we posted about 10 Free Social Studies Resources and today we will be covering Science resources. The aim behind these series is to provide teachers with a solid online background on the subjects they teach . “

Learn More Get immediate access to an article’s metadata and browse the relationship it has with the world at large. Generate a formatted citation for use in your own work, follow bibliographic links to cited articles, get your hands on a document’s data at the click of a button. Various extensions provide links to the blogosphere, online data sources and to social media sites, so you can see what other researchers have been saying about not only the article you’re reading, but its subject matter too.

“Smartphones are awesome. They keep us connected to friends, help with directions and give us access to the Internet’s infinite wonders. But how awesome is too awesome? And when does appreciation become addiction?”

“Now that the Volume Licensing Programme is available in more countries school can make sure that they have legally paid for Apps. This makes choosing Apps more interesting and a thoughtful approach can be taken and there are many options. I have put forward a set of App that might fit the bill with options between free and paid for.”

“The “Get started” page itself (screenshot above and link here) may strike seasoned tweeters as extremely basic, but it’s a perfect primer for new Twitter users who also happen to be NFL fans. It explains how to search for topics of interest using key terms or hashtags, how to follow Tweeters for updates and information, and points out that users can simply observe — with no actual tweeting required. The page also includes links and follow buttons for each of the league’s 32 teams.”

“The art of online collaboration has been slowly fine-tuned over a couple of decades. One could argue that digital networking started with the popularity of mobile cell phones. But the World Wide Web has expanded to create a meeting ground where ideas can develop into something very real and tangible. Working with a team of any size is going to require some compromise. And with the right tools and ideologies it’s possible to build some of the future’s greatest technological advancements.”

“While the idea of being or becoming a connected educator is important, as a new teacher, this may seem completely overwhelming. There are resources in abundance for this month of learning, such as the CEM Starter Kit and the Connected Educator Month Calendar. These sites are packed with wonderful information, truly enough to get the head of a new teacher spinning!”

“Posters are great learning tools that we use in our classrooms. They attract students attention and they can seamlessly communicate various concepts and ideas . These ideas can range classrooom rules to key grammatical structures. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has recently started a section called Educational Posters where we feature some awesome posters we come across online and that have a great educational value.”

“Even that Twitter thing the kids are into these days, with its 140-characters and its perpetual haze of pound signs, has its uses–and quick, simple ways a bit more accessible than facebook. Here are 28 to get you started.”

“A procedure is generally quite easy to write as long you know a little bit about your topic. These posters will walk students and teachers through the process of writing an effective procedural text by breaking it down into simple steps.”

“Anyway, if you have installed the Windows 8 RTM on a system and are currently residing in a country that is forcing this upon its citizens, then you will find an important update on Windows Update. The update does not get installed automatically, likely because it is being held back and unleashed once the final version of the OS comes out.”

“Over the last few years, we have seen plenty of competition battling Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for the title of best web browser with Google Chrome and Firefox becoming increasingly popular especially among avid PC users who have grown increasingly disillusioned by IE’s user experience.”

“I have been using WordPress (the self-hosted version) for a long time, and to me, it’s the natural choice when it comes to blogging. It has more or less always been like that. But, I have tested several other blogging platforms, and I’m not going to say anything bad about the competition, but I’m telling all my clients to stop what they’re currently doing and start using WordPress.”

“If you use the self-hosted WordPress open-source blogging tool and content management system, a new feature has just been launched by its developer, Automattic, that let’s you live-blog an event in real time, using only your blog.”

“For me, the ability to jump from one Linux desktop to another depends on whether the applications I depend on will be available to me. Luckily for me, the applications I rely on for productivity are readily available from the Ubuntu Software Center.”